There's no doubting that most Irish streets would be totally different without the presence of buskers, but new measures from Dublin City Council might see a slight decrease in their numbers.
The proposal is for there to be a sort of busking licence introduced that would see an annual fee to be paid for anyone who wanted to perform on the streets of Dublin. While it's not going to be anything astronomical (around €30), it's thought it would act as a deterrent to those performers who turn out for one day every now and then and who might not be of a high standard.
Speaking about the possibility of the licence being introduced, council Arts Officer Ray Yates said that some buskers had complained about others aggressively moving in on their spot, and that "I also think that putting a small fee on it for a year would hopefully attract those who are serious. A lot of buskers say to us that people who just come out for one day are probably very poor and never return and there are a lot of those that interfere with them".
So, do you think a yearly fee would be a good idea and bring us better buskers, or would it have no effect at all?
Via Breakingnews.ie. Main pic via Howard Stanbury/Flickr
